Something I Never Told You
by Turkaholic
Summary: Sasuke returns to Konoha for Naruto, only to find the blond with someone else. Will they ever end up together? And what ghosts of the past has Sasuke brought with him? Sasunaru/NaruSasu ratings for later Anal, Angst, Language, Rape, Lemon, Violence, WIP
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: OK, I apologise for the length of this first note, but there are some things I wanna get straight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** OK, I apologise for the length of this first note, but there are some things I wanna get straight.

First off, this is a better version of the story 'Homecoming' that I started. It's more interesting, I promise , and better written. If you were reading homecoming: I won't be updating that fic again. This one's heaps better.

Second: Since the storyline for this is so long, it's going to run something like a series, as in... there are a lot of plot arcs. I know the ending, but it's a hell of a way away at the moment, thus if you're expecting a short and sweet plot you're in the wrong place. To make up for it though, I'm gonna try to put in a lot of SasuNaru NaruSasu smut. Yay. Also, anyone who knows me knows that my writing tends to come in spurts. It's because I'm in college, and don't have a lot of free time.

Third: I don't care if you don't like how I play the characters. They're my take on how Sasuke or Naruto etc would act. If I get one more character flame, I'll scream. Any tiny tweaks you wanna give me advice on though, is fine.

Fourth: This is set four years after Sasuke leaves Konoha. It follows the anime and manga up to episode 134, but doesn't have anything to do with any shippuden episodes. This is set as if Shippuden never happened. Ok? Good nn

And finally: I know the title sucks. If you can come up with a better one, you're more than welcome to suggest it xD

**REVIEWS:** Make me very very very happy. Constructive crit. is welcome, along with random spazzes or comments on the plot. It'd mean a lot to me if you'd leave one, even if it was really short :3

Anyway... onto the story...

**Chapter one**

Sasuke didn't quite know why he'd come back to this place after so long. He'd spent so many years pretending that the memories he associated with this place just... didn't exist. He would never be able to quite understand it, but he just knew something deep down had drawn him back here.

He was seated in a tall tree overlooking a place that had for more than four years, simply been part of an unwanted and half-remembered dream. The moonlight flickered across the nearly empty streets below him as he stared vacantly into the distance at a place he'd once called home, trying to stave off the sudden emotion that he couldn't help let fill his chest. It had been a long time since he'd felt emotions this strong, and it was disturbing. However now that he was here, there was no turning back. The raven's pale face was etched with fatigue, though he took care not to let how he was feeling filter through to his eyes. It was something he'd learned from long ago, even before Orochimaru, before he'd run away. Emotion is a weakness... don't let it show.

Still... a strained frown flickered across his drawn face in the silent moonlight as the Uchiha finally drew a deciding breath and slid down from the tree, walking along the long-forgotten road to Konoha village.

Sasuke didn't know whether this was complete insanity running through his head, but for months it had been nagging him, like a thorn in the back of his mind. There was something... some_one_ here that needed resolving.

--

"Why don't you just ask the guy behind the counter to set you a bed up? Then you wouldn't have to go home in between bowls of ramen."

Kiba smirked as he leaned in the doorway of Ichiraku's, prodding a young blond ninja in the back as Akamaru let out a quiet yap in agreement. The blond in front of him jumped up from his seat in surprise, spinning around on the spot with bright blue eyes wide in shock. The bowl of pork ramen belonging to the blond fell from his lap and smashed on the floor. For once though, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't too interested in the waste of food: Instead, a slowly widening grin started to spread across his face and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. He moved out from behind the stool and took a few steps towards Kiba, letting out an embarrassed chuckle.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be back from your mission so soon." The blond admitted with a shrug, hand dropping back to his side as the other young ninja's smirk slid wider across his face.

"Obviously. How many bowls have you had, exactly?"

Naruto's face began to turn slightly red as he sideglanced the long line of empty ramen bowls on the counter where he was sitting. He carefully stepped to one side so that Kiba couldn't see.

"Uhh... One." The blond lied badly, scratching the back of his neck again. Akamaru sat up and growled chidingly at the blond. Kiba glanced up at the dog, then sniggered.

"Akamaru thinks you might be lying."

Naruto's face went redder and he grinned nervously.

"And I think I agree with him."

"Then you're wrong." Naruto huffed. Kiba beamed at him broadly, a knowing look in his eye.

"You've been here all day, haven't you?"

"No!"

For someone going very red indeed, Naruto was managing to muster up some quite convincing indignation.

Kiba sniggered again and turned his back, looking out across the moonlit main street of Konoha. Teasing the blond was fun, but since he'd arrived back an hour ago he'd noticed something different. It was really very quiet tonight, but he could smell something... unusual in the air. A presence that wasn't normally there. Up above him, Akamaru let out an inquisitive noise and nudged his master's head with his nose.

"You smell it too, eh 'maru?" Kiba muttered, his voice masked from the blond since Naruto was too busy trying to hide all the empty ramen bowls under the table. As he realised what was happening though, the grin from before reappeared on the young ninja's face. It wasn't really any of his business anyway, and watching Naruto go red in complete embarassment was much too amusing to put him in a bad mood. He reached up and patted Akamaru thoughtfully, before turning his slit-like eyes and casting them over his shoulder.

"So... you coming back to my place, or are you gonna stay here til' you end up like Choji?"

Naruto stopped rushing around and paused, looking briefly at the ill-disguised used bowls around the ramen stand, then shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets, walking up to the other young ninja and tilting his head with a sudden playful frown on his face. "Hey, I'd just have worked it all off in training anyway!"

Kiba shrugged and reached up to stroke Akamaru.

"Not if you were too fat to train." He argued, trailing a hand over the dog's ear idly as he raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "I mean... look at Choji, he can barely train for a minute before he needs to sit down."

Kiba grinned. His newest hobby was winding Naruto up and seeing the effects, and it was an enjoyable one, too. The blond however, wasn't to be discouraged. He puffed up his chest and glared into Kiba's slit-like eyes.

"I'd still train, and I'd still be able to kick your ass across the village, even if I was big as a damn house!"

Kiba just laughed and slid a hand around the blond's waist, moving closer. "Don't be too cocky, will you? You've only ever fought me once."

Naruto blinked slowly and shook his head for some reason, then a suddenly forced smirk appeared on his face and he raised an eyebrow. "Care to step outside and make that two then, Kiba?"

Kiba just laughed, then backed off, sliding his hand gently over the blond's hip as he did so.

"I just got back off a mission, somehow I don't think it'd be a fair fight, d'you?" Kiba's hand slid down Akamaru's spine one last time before he dropped his arm to his side. He was still grinning, but there was a mischievious tint to it as he began to speak again. "But if you want to come back to my place I guess we can train for a while." The young ninja raised an eyebrow at Naruto. The blond's face had suddenly fell flat, as though someone had just told him all the world's ramen stock had been permanently destroyed. He raised an arm and scratched the back of his neck, fidgeting awkwardly and starting to go red again.

"But... but I thought... we were going to go back to yours and -"

"I didn't say what _kind_ of training I wanted to do, now, did I?" Kiba butted in, his thin, needle-like pupils fixed with a smutty grin on the blond's embarassed face. Naruto averted his eyes and hooked an arm quickly through Kiba's as they headed out, away from Ichiraku's and out into the silent, deserted Konoha street. Akamaru shivered and flattened himself against Kiba's head. It was bitterly cold tonight, and their breath was hanging in the air before them in shimmering clouds as they walked instinctively towards Kiba's house. The blond knew the way by now, he'd been doing this for nearly two months now and despite having his not-so-bright moments, Naruto could sometimes be a fast learner. The blond tried to hide his shivers from the other ninja, clamping his jaw shut so his teeth wouldn't chatter loud enough for the boy at his side to hear. His bright blue eyes slid away from the path in front of them and locked onto the bright crescent moon overhead.

It was an eerie sort of night... not that Naruto was afraid or anything, but there was definitely something strange in the air... a sort of invisible electricity seemed to be running through the empty streets of Konoha, making the night almost hum with a tense and forceful energy. He shifted uncomfortably. The last time Naruto had felt anything vaguely as tense and alive as this was during the chuunin exams, surrounded by hundreds of people, watching his every move, almost four and a half years ago.

The blond gulped and found an angry frown on his light features, peering down at the dim, dusty floor again and cursing himself for being so careless. It had been a long time since he'd slipped up like that... remembering something related to a certain someone when he'd been so sure he'd be able to just cut that period of his life out, just pretend it didn't exist. It had never been Naruto's nature to give up, but it had been four years now. It was too late. That... person, was either dead, or being used as a shell for some evil reptillian monster, and Naruto was here... alive, unable to help and unable to get to the person that he'd longed so badly to just see again. Even if he'd never get to touch that arrogant bastard's pale and flawless skin, and not have to pretend to hate him, he just wanted to tell Sasuke what he'd never had the guts to, that day when the Uchiha had left...

But there was no chance of that now. Sasuke was gone, lost or dead, and Naruto had slowly lost hope in bringing him back. Finally he'd turned to someone else to take the sting off that thought, and that's what Kiba was to the blond right now - a sedative. Naruto was pretty sure Kiba knew it wasn't serious. It was just something... Something to take Naruto's mind off the fact that he'd failed. Despite the grin and cocky manner he managed to keep up in public, when he was alone, Naruto's mind would start racing with thoughts about how he could have changed it all, and how maybe that... bastard snake was now walking around, using the face... the body of someone that Naruto had wanted to protect...

Naruto frowned and stopped in his tracks as that final thought echoed loudly in his mind, bringing Kiba skidding to a halt next to him as he continued to stare silently at the ground.

"...Naruto?"

Kiba extracted his arm carefully from the blond's, watching with a concerned expression on his face at the blond. He wasn't even blinking, so Kiba waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey! Hey! You been struck down or something? You ok?"

Again, Naruto stayed silent and still. He could feel his stomach turning over, his insides contracting as those thoughts began to circle his mind once again. Normally it was easy to stave them off, but they'd come upon him so suddenly...

"I'm feeling kinda sick actually, Kiba." Naruto finally replied as he came back to his senses, blinking slowly before raising his eyes to the other's, looking into the vaguely concerned ones staring back at him. He forced a weak smile. "You wanna do something tomorrow instead?"

Kiba sighed and stuck his hands behind his head, stretching his back. "It's probably all that ramen you were eating, you idiot. I told you it wasn't good for you..." Naruto just shrugged sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck.

"Tomorrow?"

"yeah yeah..." Naruto's stomach made another churn at Kiba's tone of voice. The young ninja patted the dog snuggled against his head from the cold, and stared off into the distance with a sigh. Naruto dropped his gaze back to the floor. "I might call for you tomorrow then." Kiba muttered dubiously, then started walking off in the direction of his home without another word. Naruto listened to him walk away, stomach still turning over with both guilt and the thought of Sasuke fresh in his mind. Once Kiba's footsteps had finally echoed away into nothingness, Naruto finally looked up, blinking back the prickling feeling that meant tears were on their way.

"...Stop it." Naruto snapped at himself angrily, then turned heel and headed down the alley nearby towards his apartment biting his lip thoughtfully. _'This is so stupid'_ Naruto told himself, dragging his sandalled feet along the dusty floor, _'You're never going to become Hokage if you spend your life moping over one thing.'_

But how the hell was he meant to get over the fact that he'd let the only person he'd ever really felt a connection with, slip through his fingers like dust? Sasuke was on his mind every day, no matter what he told himself. Sometimes he'd think he'd hear the Uchiha's voice in a crowded street, or see his face staring at him from some dark corner before it suddenly disappeared again. Naruto blinked up into the rafters of one of the houses he was passing and thought for a moment that it was happening again - The Uchiha's face stared down at him sullenly from the dark, before it receded into the darkness just like it had so many other times...

But wait...

Naruto halted a moment later, mid-step, wide eyed as he considered the imaginary figure up on the roof. Something felt different about this one... had it really been his imagination? The look on the raven's face in Naruto's imagination had always been one of anger or annoyance, but that time... it had looked almost apologetic; Sad.

Naruto blinked and took a fleeting glance over his shoulder at where he'd seen the face. It was with a slightly sickening fall to reality that Naruto realised that there was nothing there, and how could there be in any case? Sasuke was gone, and what was once Sasuke was now the brand new home to a snake-like parasite. Sasuke would never come back...

The blond let out a slow sigh and turned back to the road ahead, hands tightly stuck in his pockets to protect from the bitter cold as he began walking again, head down low and shivering with every step. He was going to start training again tomorrow, so he had to at least attempt to get a decent night's sleep.

Up above him, crouched down low and tucked into the shadows of the flower shop's roof, Uchiha Sasuke stared down with baited breath as the blond's figure became a tiny speck in the distance, then turned the corner of the street. The eye-contact with Naruto had startled him, he hadn't expected the blond to be so perceptive as to see him up there. Not that it mattered in any case...

Sasuke closed his eyes and frowned heavily, placing a hand to his temple shakily. He'd been watching Naruto for the last hour; He'd seen Kiba, seen Naruto smile at him and seen the other place an arm around his waist, stroke his hip... Sasuke had gotten here too late. Naruto had moved on and found someone. Someone who wouldn't run away.  
Another hollow space was starting to form itself inside the Uchiha. He should have never come back, it was stupid to think that Naruto would wait for him, after what had happened that last day.

The Uchiha opened his eyes slowly and stood up. He'd head back into the wilderness: He couldn't stay here now, there was no place for him in Konoha anymore...

"Taking a trip down memory lane, are we Uchiha?" Came a voice, growled in Sasuke's ear

Sasuke spun around on the spot in panic, letting out a gasp as he grabbed for the Katana strapped to his back. He was too late. The most he could do was curse himself for not noticing he was being watched, before a fist hit him squarely in the jaw and he fell off the roof. Before he blacked out on the ground, the last thing he saw were three ANBU masks, staring down at him from above.

**ANOTHER! Note:** About 2 weeks has gone by since I posted this, and there's still no update. Why? Well I have to apologise like... huuugely, but I have a thesis that's due in about 5 days' time, and I've gotta put all my effort into that. I'm not going to give this up like I did Homecoming, I promise, so just... please bear with me? smile


	2. Chapter 2

NOTE: Sorry for the delay in this chapter

**NOTE**: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I've had essays coming out of my ears lately, so I've not had time to do any decent writing. There will be more delays before I can get the next chapter done, too, but hopefully it'll be up on AFF sooner rather than later.

ADDITION!!

Unfortunately my computer has died. Again. This is the second machine that's done this to me, and all my chapter 3 rough drafts were on there. What does this mean? That until my computer's fixed, I won't be able to update. Sorry peoples, I hope it gets fixed soon. /

!! In the meantime, please leave a review, it's great to hear from people who've read the story so far. It gives me happies and makes me want to write more nn; !!

--

**Two**

Naruto slid his hands behind his head as he stared at the slowly lightening ceiling of his cramped bedroom, eyes fluttering slowly as the dawn light slid across them, revealing the dark circles etched into the skin around them. His normally bright blue eyes looked watery and unfocused as he stared thoughtfully upwards. The curtains drifted in the early dawn breeze, moving the strands of messy hair that hung in front of Uzumaki Naruto's face. He shivered and let out a long, slow sigh, not bothering to move the hair from his face. He really couldn't care less - he'd spent most of the night in this same position, eyes unfocused, trying angrily to force himself into a sleep that just wouldn't come. That in itself was irritating, since Naruto's normal sleeping habits would have had him asleep and snoring loudly like a chainsaw as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The truth was that the anxiety and tenseness from last night hadn't really drained from him when he'd got home. All his muscles seemed on edge and ready to pounce; his stomach felt as though someone was screwing it up in their fist, and flashes of memory that he'd tried to force out of his mind seemed to keep pestering him like a personal slideshow.

_'...If I sever our bond... I will become stronger... much stronger.'_

Naruto closed his eyes in an exhausted frown and shook his head slowly, shaking away the remnants of that memory and forcing himself to watch, unfocused, as the murky blue light on his bedroom ceiling changed into a dim bluish-green.

"I bet that bastard would have a field day if he knew I was losing sleep over him." He concluded bitterly, turning onto his side with a heart-felt effort and staring at the sky outside his window. Naruto couldn't see a single solitary cloud, and far off from the forest came the echoing sound of birdsong. Unlike the freezing chill of the night before, today was going to be another beautiful, cloudless spring day.

_...so Kiba will want to go out somewhere._

Naruto felt his stomach churn guiltily at the prospect. He could just imagine the bright features on that feral face drop when Naruto turned him down. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to spend time with Kiba, but he just knew he wouldn't enjoy it. After four years he was far too used to this mood he was in, and he knew that if Kiba managed to drag him out that front door, everywhere the blond's eyes turned he'd be sharply reminded of Sasuke. He'd remember that the raven had once said this here or that there, or that he'd argued with him on this very spot, and slowly Naruto would be reminded yet again, of the promise he couldn't keep. Of just how badly he'd failed.

Slowly the blond raised a hand up to his tired eyes and rubbed at them gingerly. He didn't know if sleep was even possible now, but he had to try to get at least a few hours' sleep - he didn't have a mission today, but he had to at least do a little training this afternoon, even if it was only practicing his chakra control.

"Sleep." He muttered to himself angrily, teeth gritted as he forced his eyes unwillingly shut, blocking out the dim light fluttering through the curtains onto his eyes. "Sleep... sleep... SLEEP!"

The frustrated blond took to muttering the word under his breath like a mantra, somehow hoping that his brain would take the hint and do what he was asking. Unsurprisingly, his brain didn't seem to be listening, and it was another full twenty minutes before his closed eyes finally relaxed, his breathing deepened, and the final 'sleep' drifted in a slurred mutter from his mouth, to be replaced at last by low, peaceful snores.

"Naruto... Naruto...?"

"Mmmmnnnn..." Naruto frowned in his sleep and turned onto his other side, wrapping his arms around his cold shoulders with a babyish pout. Through the sleep, Naruto was vaguely aware that someone had just pulled the covers from off his bed. Bastards. It was probably Kiba playing a practical joke, but Whoever they were they could get screwed. Naruto had worked hard to get this sleep, and he wasn't going to ruin it now, even if the god damned village was on fire.

He started pretending to snore loudly, just to put his message across a little more solidly.

There was a pause, then a long slow sigh emitted from behind the blond. He took it as a sign of defeat and felt a triumphant smirk slide across his half-asleep face, nuzzling into his pillow and trying to get back to sleep.

"... ... ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!!"

Naruto let out a high pitched scream as he jumped out of bed, eyes wide in pain, legs giving way underneath him as he went. He landed with a heavy thud, face-first into the floor, holding his ass cheeks in pain. He'd just had a pair of fingers rammed into them from behind, after all.

Kakashi blinked in surprise at the young ninja in a heap at his feet, then shrugged, gave an innocent smile and scratched the back of his neck. "Mmm? Maybe I should have uh... woken you up more gently..." he said quietly, apparently a little bemused at the reaction he'd evoked from Naruto. At the Jounin's feet, Naruto groaned and rolled onto his side, rubbing his ass sorely.

"K...Kakashi-sensei...?" He croaked, trying to focus on the blurred face above him as the pain in his lower half subsided. He finally brought his teacher into focus: eyes closed, and still smiling a little too innocently. Naruto's eye twitched angrily as he hauled himself clumsily back to his feet, an angry, sleepy pout forming on his face.

"What do you think you're doing, coming in here and waking me up like that?! Haven't you heard of knocking? Couldn't you have just shook me awake?! And how -" Naruto's rant stopped mid-sentence as Kakashi raised a hand for silence. Normally Naruto would have just carried on, but Kakashi's features had just changed. He was no longer smiling innocently - he suddenly seemed more serious.

"I already said I was probably wrong about waking you up that way." He said, scratching the back of his neck again. Naruto thought that 'probably' was definitely not the word he would have used, but he stayed quiet for once. Now that he was more awake, he could tell something was wrong. Kakashi was here and it was only just past dawn. Whatever the matter was, it obviously couldn't wait. "And I didn't have time to wait for you to wake up on your own."

"What is it?" Naruto yawned, rubbing his eyes free of sleep. Whatever it was, it sounded serious. Kakashi shrugged evasively.

"I... don't really think it's my business to tell you." He said with that innocent smile flashing across his features one more time. Then his face fell flat. "Just get dressed and come with me, Naruto. There's something I think you need to see..."

"Why don't you start talking and make this interview end a lot quicker?" The Hokage snapped, tired eyes narrowed at the chair before her as Dawn started to arrive over Konoha outside the window, the sun rising slowly from behind the horizon, casting a dim golden shimmer over the surrounding, dew-laden forest. Tsunade was in no mood to appreciate the sight now though - It had been a long, long night. She'd had two whole bottles of sake to herself last night, had three hours sleep, and then been rudely awakened by ANBU hammering on her door. It was now six long hours later and she was tired, anxious, and had the mother and father of all hangovers pounding inside her racing mind.

Of all the wanted-ninja she'd been expecting to see as the captain of the ANBU unit had led her across the dark cold street to the Hokage's office - a hand raised to her throbbing head as she tried to force herself to come to her senses - it had certainly not been this boy. Uchiha Sasuke. She, like the rest of Konoha, had thought they had seen the last of the Uchiha that day he had disappeared over the border. Even Naruto, who had been so adamant to go and find Sasuke in the beginning, had finally come to his senses and given up the chase over these past few months. Yet here he was, large as life and right here in Konoha after all this time, unconscious and bound in the chair opposite her desk.

If Tsunade hadn't had such a bad hangover, she probably would have laughed at how ridiculous it all seemed.

Sasuke was awake now. Wide awake. Once he'd come round, he'd been dazed and groggy for only a few seconds before his memory had apparently come flooding back. He'd winced as the pain rushed through the deep purple bruise on his cheek, then his eyes had flown wide briefly and with cobra-fast reactions he'd darted forwards and jumped for the window, in a bid for freedom.

Or... he would have, if his hands hadn't been bound to the chair he was sitting in.

That had been the first and last real reaction Tsunade had got out of the raven-haired ninja since he'd woken up. For the last two and a half hours, Sasuke had sat there in absolute silence, calm and collected. Not a single emotion had shown itself in Sasuke's face. He hadn't even acknowledged that there was anybody else in the room with him.

Tsunade's eye twitched in agitation and she slammed her hands down on the desk in front of her, sending paperwork flying across the office in all directions. "WHY are you in Konoha?! Is your master nearby? Did Orochimaru send you to spy on us?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed at the mention of Orochimaru's name, but other than that he seemed to be in some kind of deep hypnosis. Tsunade's patience was beginning to thin, and she raised a hand to her temple as it began to twitch. This was getting ridiculous, it was like talking to a brick wall, only a brick wall would have perhaps been a little more responsive than the ninja currently sitting in front of her.

Moments of silence passed, and then...

Sasuke stirred slightly and sighed. "...I didn't come back on Orochimaru's orders."

Tsunade blinked as the words sank in. Finally, he was speaking! She hadn't heard the raven's voice in more than four years, but even back then it had been filled with an arrogant distaste she hadn't liked. Now, after four years with Orochimaru, that distaste was even more prominent. Her brows knitted in a distaste of her own and she stared at him thoughtfully. He was now finally staring back at her, disapproval written on his pale, bruised face, but still with that air of complete calm.

"You're lying." She insisted. "Or you came back for another reason. To steal something? To kill someone...?" A thought ran briefly through Tsunade's mind at that. A memory of a young ninja she'd always held a soft spot for, lying in a hospital bed, unconscious, the work of the same ninja sitting in the chair in front of her. Her eyes narrowed angrily at the raven, as though it was already confirmed. She leaned back and muttered in a low growl: "...did you come back to kill Naruto?"

At that, Sasuke blinked at her slowly, still showing no emotion, nothing to betray his thoughts or feelings to Tsunade.

"Well?" She urged.

Sasuke seemed to lose interest in the conversation, and went back to watching the rising Sun beyond the woods.

The Hokage sighed in agitation and pulled down the blinds to the office with a sharp snap, obscuring Sasuke's view of the slowly-dawning sky outside. He blinked serenely, pale and tired-looking lids closing over their smoky-brown eyes, but otherwise made no sign that he was aware that anyone else was even in the room. Well... Tsunade had expected that. She sighed and sat down opposite the Uchiha, placing her hands on her aching forehead as she began speaking more quietly, in a more urgent tone than she'd used all night.

"Sasuke," She uttered quietly, staring down at her desk in irritation, "had you been any other wanted ninja, ANBU would have killed you right where you were. They could have done it easily, without my permission. If they had come across you anywhere but Konoha, you'd already be dead. If you don't start answering questions, I'll assume you pose a threat to Konoha, and I'll be forced to let the ANBU execute you, like they were meant to the moment they saw you on that rooftop."

There was a slow silence as the three ANBU members - up until now standing unnoticed in the corners of the room - drew in closer to Sasuke, their white masks eyeing Tsunade grimly through the gloom of her needlessly dark office.

"Why did you return to the village?"

Sasuke's frown stayed passive on his face, but inwardly his stomach walls felt as though they were coated in acid. His insides were burning in agitation, and his cheek felt as though when he had been punched, his jaw had shattered into a thousand pieces. Not that it mattered if Tsunade was about to order him dead - How could he say that the reason he'd returned was because he couldn't get the idea of Naruto out of his head and that the idea of returning had been tormenting him for ages? He inwardly snorted - it wasn't like she would believe him anyway, and one way or another she'd still give that order. He couldn't believe he'd allowed himself to be forced into this position - He should have payed more attention up on that rooftop, instead of thinking about Naruto, thinking about how the blond had moved on without him...

...And even in this room, with ANBU members closing in on him from the dark edges of the room ready to execute him, Sasuke still couldn't shake off the sinking in his stomach that he'd come to associate with missing a certain idiot blond.

Tsunade's lips formed a thin line in determination as she waited for Sasuke to respond, but the raven's eyes merely flickered up to her face and back again contemplatively, and Tsunade's stomach sank slightly. Sasuke really wasn't going to give in, and despite what she'd said, she really didn't want to cause the death of a Konoha ninja - especially this one, but it seemed Sasuke was too dangerous for the good of the village. She took a deep breath. Naruto would never forgive her for what she was about to do...

The Hokage placed both her hands on the table in front of her and lowered her wide eyes to the paperwork on her desk, suddenly giving a very brief nod.

"Do it." She muttered bitterly.

It was over in a second. The ANBU seemed to lunge forwards as one, kunais at the ready. Then with a sickening spatter of blood, one of them connected viciously with Sasuke's neck.

Tsunade didn't need to look up to know Sasuke wasn't even struggling. Her already wide eyes slid wider as the Uchiha's blood spattered the paperwork in front of her. Suddenly her neck jerked up to look at the scene ready to change her mind and yell wait, when something happened that drowned out her words completely.

Sasuke's whole body suddenly seemed to be bathed in blue static, his eyes closed even against the pain of the kunai piercing his skin, and before the ANBU had time to even back away there was a high pitched, ear-splitting screech, and all three of them seemed to be blasted away from the Uchiha and slammed against the far walls. The chair beneath him seemed to smash to pieces, and the ropes around his arms fell to pieces within the field of blue static.

Sasuke had closed his eyes the moment Tsunade had lowered hers, concentrating hard on his chakra. When he'd left Konoha all those years ago, his Chidori technique wasn't perfect, but after four years virtually alone and training, he could now produce a Chidori that could cover his entire body, and that was precisely what he was using now. He opened his eyes and glared at the Hokage, who still stood with her eyes wide at what was going on, then turned and skidded to the wall where his Katana stood while the ANBU got to their feet, and his Chidori faded. Tsunade could sentence him to death as much as she wanted, but Sasuke had no intention of dying on anybody's orders. Even if Naruto had forgotten him, he still had work to do; a brother to kill...

Sasuke's neck was screaming in pain as blood slid down his neck, staining his white shirt red, but he didn't have time to think about that now: The ANBU were back on their feet, and Tsunade was starting to overcome her shock and move around the desk to join the fight. The raven panted as he held his Katana out threateningly at the four ninja closing in on him, his eyes changing from smoky brown to red in a flash. The full-body chidori took up a lot of Sasuke's chakra, he didn't have the strength to perform it again, or to keep his Sharingan working for long and he was still dazed from being knocked out... as strong as he now was, he didn't know if he could fight off three ANBU and a hokage, the state he was in.

SLAM

Tsunade's door suddenly flew from its hinges and crashed across the room, sending Tsunade's desk screeching across the floor as the two collided and filling the air with dust. Sasuke's eyes flitted from the four ninja in the room towards the doorway nervously. The others didn't seem to know what was going on either, but as the dust cleared, Sasuke's heart seemed to stop beating altogether, every muscle in his body tensing as he took in the view standing before him as the dust began to clear.

Tsunade's worried expression turned to a frown as she saw Naruto standing in the doorway, a bewildered look on his face as Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, his expression placid as the Hokage gave him an angry glare. Kakashi didn't seem to notice.

"I hope you don't mind us bursting in," The Jounin said pleasantly. "The door was locked."

Naruto, however, hadn't heard a word of it. His eyes were on the blood-soaked Uchiha backed up against the wall, Katana still held defensively before him.

"S... Sasuke...?"

The Sharingan faded from Sasuke's bruised and bloodied face, and for the first time in four years the pair of young ninja finally stood watching each other, face to face.


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE: I'm awfully sorry that this has taken so long coming, and equally sorry that it's only a short chapter I'm posting

NOTE: I'm awfully sorry that this has taken so long coming, and equally sorry that it's only a short chapter I'm posting. I've only just caught the writing bug again, and I really want to take it slow, since I've been out of the game so long. I only ask that you bear with me - I can't force myself to write, and I've just not had the time/patience/inspiration/determination/other stuff to do any good solid writing. Hopefully that period's now over, though I can't promise anything / HOWEVER reviews will obviously encourage me to write more and work harder at it. There, you have a reason to review :3

Also, I noticed an error in chapter one - I forgot that Akamaru is larger after the timeskip, however, I intend to go back and correct that very soon.

PLEASE REVIEW. Tis a nice way of saying thank you. Either that or giving me a million dollars donation into my bank account, but hey I'm not expecting miracles xP

Chapter 3

Tsunade's desk gave one last, stressed groan in the silence and then collapsed completely, sending a new layer of thick dust floating into the streaks of early morning sunlight glimmering through the Hokage's window. Nobody in the room payed any attention to the desk, the dust, or even the new rays of sunshine spreading their warmth over Konoha: what was happening within these walls right now was far more important, and for at least two of the ninja who were frozen to the spot in the slowly settling dust, nothing else mattered, or even existed, except the pair of contrasting eyes that stared back at them across the silent room.

The inside of Uchiha Sasuke's chest felt as though a boa constrictor had curled around his ribs and was squeezing the air from him. Something unfamiliar stabbed at his lower stomach as he watched that face, the face that had hounded his sleeping thoughts for three long, emotionless years. A mixture of long-abandoned emotions seemed to be bubbling up inside the raven. He could feel his fingers weaken their grip uncertainly against the upraised katana and begin to shake just slightly at the sense of Naruto's chakra so close-by... then he forced himself to stop with a long, low, controlled breath. He couldn't allow anything to effect him that much... not even Naruto. And even as he thought it, the raven remembered: a certain hand on Naruto's hip, outside a certain ramen bar...

Sasuke's face hardened just a little in the shadows.

The blond in the doorway, however, didn't seem able to work out which emotion he was meant to be feeling, or even if he had any emotions left in his body except for sheer dumb shock. Kakashi removed the hand from his shoulder as Tsunade shot him a furtive glare and formed her lips into a thin, angry-looking line.

"...I thought I'd made it clear not to drag him into this." Hissed Tsunade's voice through the silence, and as though on cue, Naruto seemed to stir. His fists suddenly clenched and his eyes narrowed, though he didn't once remove his gaze from the raven-haired ninja backed up against the wall.

"You knew he was here?" The blond growled suddenly, stopping Tsunade from continuing to speak. She turned her eyes to Naruto with a troubled frown, but didn't say anything. Sasuke was still frozen in that defensive stance, blood warming his chest as it flowed freely. He was starting to feel lightheaded. Dizzy. But he still recognised the tone of Naruto's voice all too easily. Naruto had directed it at him long ago, more than once.

"You knew all this time that Sasuke was here and you didn't tell me?!" He said louder. Tsunade's eyes focused and she sighed. This was the conversation she really hadn't wanted to have, and she knew from years of experience that no matter what she said to try and subdue him, Naruto would more than likely not listen to her and think exactly what he wanted. Still... she was the Hokage, and she had to make him understand.

"Naruto, He's not who you think he is." She said calmly, knowing all too well that her words were hitting Naruto without even leaving a dent in his consciousness. He was too stubborn to see what was as plain as day to the rest of the world "That Sasuke isn't the one you knew..." Her eyes darted over to the dark, blood-stained figure backed against the wall, as though waiting for him to suddenly spring forwards with a snarl and prove her right. "...He stopped being that person the moment he left this village. He wouldn't even tell me what he was doing here..."

For a brief second, Naruto felt his heart leap in his chest in hope, though he barely had to take in Sasuke's appearance before it fell flat again. The Uchiha's expression was unblinking... wide-eyed, yes, but just as cold and unreadable as ever it had been, only now - to make Naruto feel even more sick - Sasuke's clothes mirrored those of the one person he'd tried to save the raven from. He seemed somehow paler too, as though Orochimaru's pallid skin had somehow been passed on to his apprentice. It was... twisted, just like the blond's stomach right now. How could Naruto even have dreamed that there would be anything else there in those deep obsideon eyes? He wondered just how much the likeness went, even below the surface, but...

"I don't care..." He growled a moment later, his expression darkening, even though he barely knew what he was meant to feel, to say, to do. "...I don't care what you say, or what you think you know about him. I... I know Sasuke!" Naruto clenched his fists tightly, feeling his face flush red in anger and determination as he willed himself into action. His will to find Sasuke had failed, but now that that bastard was right here, there was no way Naruto was going to fail a second time. His whole body seemed to move, shaking, on it's own, and the next moment Naruto knew, he was stood with his back to Sasuke, his very fingers outstretched, protecting the bleeding raven from the ANBU... from Tsunade.

Naruto felt the very tips of his fingers shaking. He felt numb, but the blond wasn't going to fail Sasuke again. Even now, he could feel those eyes burning into the back of his neck, was aware that any moment a Katana could rip through his chest from behind. He couldn't think too much about that now, all that mattered was protecting Sasuke. "...I know Sasuke..." he repeated shakily, "...I know him better than even he knows."

The ANBU shifted as a tense silence fell once more on the Hokage's office, each ninja uncertain of what would happen next. One of them raised the tip of his kunai to his other hand and fingered it impatiently as he looked to Tsunade, making it perfectly clear that he was more than happy to slice through anything that stood between him and his prey.

The Hokage, however, was focusing too much on Naruto to notice, her face contorted into a deep set frown. Even Kakashi's eyes seemed somehow concerned as he stood in the doorway, unmoving.

"Naruto...Think about what you're doing..." Tsunade said carefully, brow furrowing even further as she spoke. "You have no idea what he has been doing in the years he was away."

"Does any of that matter? He came back-"

"We don't know why!"

"So you're just going to... to execute him!?"

"It's the only way to keep Konoha sa-"

"THEN FIND ANOTHER WAY!" Naruto yelled, and for a moment a flash of red flickered in his eyes. There was a pause as Naruto's head dropped, eyes closed as he calmed himself, then glared back up at Tsunade determinedly, his eyes their usual vivid blue. "...Because the only way to Sasuke, is through me."

Another pause threatened to fill the air, broken only by the sound of Naruto's angry heavy breaths. Naruto's blood was pumping through his veins like fire. He could feel all the eyes in the room levelled on him, nervously. He had nearly lost control of his anger that time. He couldn't afford to do it again.

Before the silence had a chance to take hold, an unexpected figure moved away a little from the wall, and for the first time since Naruto had entered the room, it spoke.

"Naruto." Sasuke growled stonily, his eyes narrowing as the blond looked over his shoulder at him. "If you don't step aside," He said flatly, "...I'll kill you."

Sasuke's stomach churned at the lie as he saw the effect it had on its target. Naruto seemed to shrink just a little, his eyes flickering in what could have been sadness, but Sasuke shrugged the guilt away like an irritating fly. He was angry that Naruto seemed to think he couldn't defend himself, worried that the blond had put himself in danger, and angry at himself that he still had enough emotions left in him after all this time to worry at all. A confused mixture of anger and worry, and a desperation to just escape and try to forget everything that had happened, was all that he could think of; all the rest of what he felt was just too big to fit into one brain at once.

Tsunade made a noise in the back of her throat and straightened up, looking almost triumphant at Sasuke's words, even as Naruto turned back towards her, a little less defiant than before.

"You see, Naruto? He hardly remembers you. He doesn't care about anyone or anything, except doing whatever it is Orochimaru has sent him here to do." She muttered distastefully. "He's not who he was when you knew him, you should get used to it and let me do what I have to." Tsunade knew her voice was cold, but Naruto was a blind brat when it came to Sasuke. He always had been, since the very day the Uchiha had ran away. The ghost-faced ANBU moved in on the two teenage ninjas and seemed to tense up silently, ready to move when Naruto stood aside, as they knew he would. Sasuke gritted his teeth and gripped his Katana tighter, ready to go out fighting.

Naruto, however, stood his ground.

"... maybe you're right."

The blond's voice was suddenly nothing more than a whisper, though only a second before it had been a shout. His shoulders hunched over as though he hadn't slept for days (Which was half true), and his eyes were hidden behind loose, limp bangs of hair as he stared at the floor, lost momentarily in thought.

"Maybe... Sasuke isn't anything like he was when he left... maybe nothing's left in that... bastard that I could recognise." Nobody in the room noticed that Naruto's fists were clenching, that he was beginning to shake. Nobody except Sasuke, at least. "But I won't let you execute him before I have a chance to find out."

The raven had been listening with baited breath to the whole conversation, his insides moving uneasily as Naruto defended him, and more than he liked. Even tensed up and ready as he was, he couldn't help but blink as Naruto turned on the spot and glared at him, his chest heaving as though about to either scream or cry. Sasuke wasn't even sure which one was more likely, judging from the look on his face. Naruto himself could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest as he spoke. He was half afraid that it would jump up out of his mouth any moment now. He gritted his teeth in an attempt to keep his heart where it was meant to be.

"I won't sever the only connection I ever made...just because it's easier." Sasuke's stomach gave another churn at those words, and at the familiar glare that came with it. He couldn't help but remember a waterfall - the last time he'd looked into those stupid, stubborn, determined eyes... and something underneath the surface of his calm, grim facade seemed to pull him in, catch him off balance. He stared at Naruto silently, dumbstruck. The Uchiha swayed slightly from bloodloss as Naruto clenched his fists harder, fingernails digging so hard into his palms that he was losing circulation in his fingers. "...I'll always remember that, even if this bastard doesn't."

He didn't know what came over him, and when he would try to recall it later, he would never be able to place exactly what had happened, but Sasuke's hand suddenly began to lower the Katana back to his side automatically, as though on cue. Something about the blond's words, that glance, that face that he'd tried to forget for years had caught him off guard. He opened his mouth wordlessly in an attempt to say something - threatening or otherwise, but he never got the chance. An angry Uzumaki's fist suddenly connected with the raven's jaw, and Sasuke fell to the dusty floor with an almighty thud, unconscious, for the second time in six hours. Normally Naruto's punch would just have given the Uchiha a sore head, but weakened as he was, he really was in no state for a fight.

Naruto had frozen as soon as the punch connected, watching as Sasuke crumpled silently to the floor and stayed down. Now that the anger had passed, Naruto felt numb with disbelief, as though his whole brain had been dipped in ice and frozen where it was. He was aware of just one stupid thing: that his eyes were burning, and beginning to blur a little.

Tsunade watched silently as Naruto hunched over one more time and turned to head for the door slowly. Kakashi moved aside without a word as Naruto walked past him and paused in the doorway, shuddering. All those years... all the guilt that had built up inside him like a dam waiting to burst, all the things he'd wanted to say to Sasuke, if he'd only had one more chance... and here it was, and Naruto couldn't bear it. This was all just too much... He couldn't deal with it all, his brain just wouldn't move fast enough.

"Old woman..." He croaked, licking his dry lips but making damn sure she knew he meant business, "...if you touch one hair on Sasuke's head, you'll have one more renegade ninja on your hands." He growled shakily, and without one more word, he walked out the door and down the coridoor, his footsteps echoing in the hanging silence.

Tsunade waited until Naruto's footsteps had rung out of hearing before she looked down at the unconscious Uchiha, sprawled out and bleeding heavily onto her floor.

"...Tsunade-Sama?"

The ANBU with the kunai drew in closer to the sprawled figure on the floor, greedy eyes glinting in the morning sun, even behind the thick mask. Tsunade, however, held out a hand to stop him, a deep and troubled frown playing on her features.

Naruto had made things difficult... as usual, but even if getting rid of Sasuke was the right thing to do, even if it was the only sure way to keep the village safe...

She just... couldn't do it.

Tsunade strode over to the windowsill and grabbed the half-empty pitcher of cold saké from the night before, taking it all down in one gulp as the others watched and waited. She held the empty pitcher to her lips and closed her eyes firmly for a full thirty seconds before she opened them again and walked back over, kneeling down over Sasuke silently, and brushed the blood and sweat soaked hair from his milky face. She looked at him carefully, as though by watching him sleeping she could judge what his thoughts were. If it weren't for the two shining new bruises on his face, he could look almost peaceful right now...

The Hokage's mind spun. It was wrong, she knew it. She could feel it in her gut, but there was no way now that she could go ahead and kill him, not without hurting Naruto - which alone would feel wrong - and maybe even setting loose an angry Ninetails on the village in the process. It was about damage control now, that was all.

With a heavy sigh, Tsunade leaned over the Uchiha and placed a palm to his neck, mending the wound as best she could. The restless ANBU above her shifted as though they wanted to say something, but none of them dared to argue with Tsunade. Everybody knew how notoriously short tempered she could be, and how much she liked getting her own way. It was easy to see why she liked Naruto so much.

"...Take him home." She said shortly as she stood again. "Keep watch on him night and day. Make sure he doesn't leave the village."

The ANBU members hesitated for just a fraction of a second, and Tsunade was sure she knew what they were thinking.

"Today!" She snapped, throwing a frustrated fist that made a dent the size of a boulder in the wall. She turned her back on them to stare, unseeing, out of the window behind her broken desk. The sunlight was now streaking brightly across the village and covering everything it touched in glittering gold; but Tsunade couldn't see it. She was thinking about Naruto, about Sasuke, and about the decision she'd just made. She barely even noticed the sound of the ANBU carrying Sasuke out of the room, or that the final, solitary figure in her office had come to stand beside her, staring out at the morning sunshine.

"...Well," Mumbled Kakashi at her side, "that was more dramatic than I'd imagined it would be." He said airily, a vague smile in his eyes. He sounded more like he was commenting on the weather than anything else. Tsunade bit her lip and narrowed her eyes in the bright light, resting her hands on the windowsill with a sigh.

"I ordered you to leave Naruto out of it. You completely disobeyed me, Kakashi."

A moment of silence. The Jounin scratched his neck offhandedly.

"...Yes. I suppose I did."

Tsunade turned to look at him curiously. He barely looked concerned.

"You know I could have you up on trial for it."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at her, in a polite sort of way.

"...would you?"

Tsunade tried to take another comfort swig from the empty saké pitcher, and dropped it on the floor frustratedly. She didn't answer.

"Why did you have to get Naruto involved?" Tsunade muttered bitterly a moment later, the anger gone from her voice now. She just wanted to get a hot saké and drink herself into a stupor. It always worked for Jiraiya, so maybe it was time to take a leaf from his book. "Don't you think that boy's been through enough?"

"Hmm..." The Jounin scratched his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged and headed for the door himself, leaving Tsunade still watching the morning get brighter. He stopped in the doorway as Naruto did, though unlike Naruto, Kakashi's voice was unwavering as he spoke. "...Don't you think - since he's been through so much - you owe him a chance to make decisions for himself?"

With that, the silver-haired Jounin left Tsunade alone to her thoughts, her mind spinning, along now with the room after the drink she'd just had. She wrinkled her nose at the broken furniture and sat down on the only chair that was still standing. Today had started out as a pretty rotten day. Somehow she couldn't help feeling that Naruto wouldn't be having the time of his life right now, either.

With a broken desk, a bloody floor, a spinning room and an overwhelming headache - she decided - she would have been better off if she'd just stayed in bed.


	4. Chapter 4

The Uchiha compound had stood, empty and abandoned for a very long time. Or at least what seemed like a very long time to the desolate streets that passed empty, weather-beaten doors and the worn and diminished walls of what had once been proud, powerful, and beautiful. The Uchiha compound was a forlorn memory of the jewel in Konoha's crown; Empty but not forgotten: The village had never forgot the cautionary tale of how it fell into ruin. How a massacre had stained the walls with blood, and how the final heir had become Orochimaru's apprentice...

Unknown to all but a few, however, that apprentice now lay inside it's confines for the first time in four years, walking the long abandoned corridoors with an expression of pure blankness on his bruised and swollen face. His deep dark eyes were lidded and expressionless, shifting in and out of focus as he limped slowly through the house that had once been his home, but now stood unused and decaying after years of neglect. It felt as though Sasuke had fallen into one of his own frequent nightmares, each turn of the corridoor making his insides writhe with a fresh and painful memory that he had long ago learned to block out, to push ruthlessly to the back of his mind and pretend that it never existed. Now, however, the Uchiha couldn't even turn his head without remembering something new, and no matter how hard he tried to block out those emotions, each new room forced them back in his face so strongly that he barely felt capable of breathing.

Sasuke's glazed eyes passed over a grimy window as dusty afternoon sunlight struggled through it onto his face, and his expression changed briefly into a grim smile as he spotted a flash of white flitting between the trees outside. He had woken up with an aching jaw, completely alone and splayed on a dusty, moth eaten bed; But he'd since noticed several ANBU masks staring out at him from the undergrowth around the house. It didn't take a genius to work out that he was being watched. Tsunade was making sure he wasn't about to leave the village. It was ironic really, thought Sasuke, since that's exactly what he most wanted to do right now. Leave, and pretend he'd never seen Naruto, or this house, or Konoha. After all, there was nothing to stay here for. His one hope had been Naruto, and even that hope had been crushed the moment Kiba had swaggered up to Ichikura's and laid a hand on his hip. Sasuke slid his fingertips down the dirty window subconsciously, releasing streaks of dusty sunlight into the dim hallway as he thought deeply. He didn't want to have to face the blond again. Not now that things had changed so much.

After everything Uchiha Sasuke had been through to get back to the blond, to stand face to face with him and force himself to speak the truth for once, now all he could think about was getting away again. Maybe... (and a cold shiver ran down the raven's back as he thought it), maybe it wasn't too late to go back...

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd panicked. It had been years maybe since he'd let himself feel enough to do so; Nonetheless the next thing the raven-haired Ninja knew, he was emptying drawers onto the floor and stuffing things feverishly into a dustladen backpack that had once belonged to a young Sasuke. The long silent house was suddenly filled with violent crashes as the fevered Uchiha - eyes wide in panic - moved from room to room, ransacking his own house for something, anything he could use to get out. Sasuke had always been proud, confident of his abilities, but even in such blind panic, he knew it would take more than sheer desperation not to end up dead at the hands of ANBU. He gritted his teeth and ground them furiously has he tried to breathe, not to feel his heart thundering in his ears as he hurtled recklessly back down the corridor, backpack clasped in sweating hands; Heading for the one room that he had avoided subconsciously for nine years.

The dust was thicker here, the room untouched since the last inhabitant had used it for the very last time, but Sasuke was blind to the strewn books and clothes and Kunais that gave it all an uncomfortably lived-in feeling. He didn't come in here for sightseeing, he was looking for something, and his wide eyes scanned the debris vacantly, looking for the solitary glint of steel that would help him get the hell out of here, and away to where he could forget again; Pretend not to feel...

The door creaked on its hinges behind him.

Sasuke's reactions were faster than anybody could give him credit for, considering the circumstances. In the final milisecond he found what he was looking for and swooped around, Itachi's old katana held dangerously at the intruder's neck.

"...Doing a little spring cleaning, Sasuke?"

Naruto's voice trembled audibly as he stared at the wild-eyed Uchiha. He couldn't help taking a nervous step back. Sasuke looked insane, white as a sheet, sweating and shaking as he held the sharp Katana at arms length. Strangely, Naruto couldn't help realising how much taller Sasuke had gotten, and then chided his stupid brain for thinking of things like that in such a serious situation.

Sasuke remained frozen, staring at Naruto blankly as he felt his hand quiver on the handle of the blade. His insides felt no more steady than his hand, as though a swarm of snakes were writhing and squirming inside his stomach. His breathing was fast and shallow as he watched the blond's surprised expression, and finally something clicked back into place inside the Uchiha's head. He blinked weakly as if he was waking up from a sleep and shook his head, a deep-set frown forming on his clammy face.

Naruto's gaze faltered, before taking a deep, uneasy breath and looking around on the floor. His stomach seemed to shrink inside him as he saw the scattered things lying twisted or broken among the dust. He never remembered seeing the Uchiha's house inside before, but he knew that the mess was definitely a new addition. For a start, he'd been standing on the doorstep when the crashing and shattering had begun. Naruto looked back up at the point of the katana in front of him, his face sliding from fear, to pity, to anger all in a fraction of a second. For once he was sure he understood what Sasuke had been in the middle of doing.

"Leave." The Uchiha croaked dryly, his voice barely even recognisable as his own as it echoed in his head. He turned his back on Naruto and sheathed the Katana, trying to regain some sort of control of his emotions. Yes, it was a shock to be here, to face all the things he'd put behind him, but if possible, to Sasuke it was even more of a shock to realise that he had enough emotion left in him to panic. A tug of bitterness pulled at him through the confusion. Hadn't he trained himself to forget these stupid feelings while he'd been away?

"Why? It looks like you're planning on doing enough leaving for the both of us."

There was a silence as Sasuke paused in what he was doing; Hesitated. Then the Uchiha simply bent down and picked up the rucksack that lay at his feet, slinging it over one shoulder and tying the Katana to his waistband. Naruto's heart jolted at the ignorance this bastard was capable of, but that was nowhere near enough for Naruto to give up. He'd given up on Sasuke once, and he wouldn't do it again. Eyes narrowing into fierce slits, the blond slid slowly into a fighting stance. Sasuke turned slowly back towards the door, blank eyes levelled on the angry Uzumaki that stood between him and freedom. His eyes travelled over Naruto's face for a moment and then he frowned. He couldn't let Naruto get in the way this time.

"I said get out."

"I'm not letting you leave."

Sasuke's tired eyes glittered at the blond's stubbornness. Damn Naruto for always complicating everything! He placed a still shaking hand on the hilt of the katana threateningly; something Naruto didn't fail to notice, but even though his heart thudded harder in his ears and his breathing hitched, he didn't budge an inch.

"...If you don't get out of my way-"

"You think I waited four years just to stand by and watch you walk away again?" He growled furiously into the dusty air, cutting Sasuke off mid-threat. He lowered himself into even more of a fighting stance. "I'm stronger now! I trained harder than ever when you left, and I looked for you." Naruto's tone changed suddenly on the last few syllables, and he felt heat rising to his cheeks as he realised his voice had cracked and become almost affectionate. Sasuke frowned harder than ever, trying to keep his emotions at bay as Naruto screwed his face up for a second. "And... if you think I wont break every bone in your body to stop you leaving, then iYou're/i the idiot, not me!"

Sasuke's jaw clamped, and not at the insult either. He stared at Naruto blankly, bloodshot eyes taking in all the aspects to this new, grown-up Naruto that stood before him, no doubt as serious about his words as he seemed. Sasuke felt the pack of snakes in his stomach spring back into life, and he snorted shakily to cover it, though yet again for some inexplicable reason, he felt his hand let go of the katana without thinking about it. Sasuke winced and turned to the window, a bitter look on his face at the thought that yet again, Naruto had beaten him back without even landing a blow. More than anything, Sasuke wanted revenge, but coming in a close second was Naruto, and the moron had a power over him that even four years of systematically shutting down his emotions could barely touch. He sighed and frowned out the window, no longer interested in fighting.

Uchiha Sasuke was stuck in Konoha, and he'd known it deep down, all along. It had made him panic, and If it weren't for Naruto's sudden appearance, Sasuke would probably be dead, running from the house by now, and Sasuke couldn't afford to die. Not yet. He took a calming breath, composing himself once more. He wasn't going to let himself fall apart anymore when there was still work to do.

Naruto was confused, disturbed more than anything by what he'd seen of Sasuke's behaviour so far, but he took care not to show it.

In the past, when they were younger, Sasuke would have quickly taken Naruto up on the challenge, but this morning the blond had looked on someone different, and right now, too. Sasuke had left Konoha grim, twisted, but still full of life, of determination. The one Naruto saw before him seemed to have withered slightly. He was certainly thinner, paler. The clothes he wore were a little too big for him, though Naruto got the impression that they had been made to fit him perfectly, once upon a time. For the first time since Sasuke had come back, the blond turned his thoughts to just what Sasuke had experienced since he'd left that day, but what it was, Naruto could hardly even begin to imagine.

Sasuke let out a slow breath, something that Naruto knew too well was through tiredness. The raven was exhausted, way too tired to put up even half a good fight, and something in his body language told him that the Uchiha didn't even have the strength to run, even if he'd wanted to.

"...You should be in bed." Naruto muttered more calmly.

"I don't need nursing like a baby." Came the snappy reply. Naruto nearly smiled - even after all this time, that bastard could be so stubborn.

"Well, at least that proves there's a part of you still left in there." He said, trying to ease the atmosphere. To his surprise, Sasuke's lip even twitched a little. Naruto's presence was oddly soothing to the Uchiha. It made him feel more like himself than he had in years.

"Hn, You're still a dobe." He mumbled, lips still formed in a vague, tired smile. "You haven't changed at all."

"...I've gotten lonelier."

Naruto bit his lip as the words slipped out, realising what he'd said only after he'd said it, but it was too late to stop himself. He blinked and frowned as his vision suddenly blurred, eyes stinging as he dug his hands into his pockets. Dammit! Why did he have to start crying now? He watched as Sasuke's face faded into a frown again, and suddenly Naruto felt as though he was about to burst. All those years of searching, all these months that he'd lost hope, and now here Sasuke was, standing here almost as though nothing had happened! He clenched his fists again, but one look at the deep bruising on the Uchiha's face made him think twice about pummelling him. Instead, everything that Naruto had been keeping inside finally exploded.

"Dammit, bastard, you were the only real friend I had! You're the closest thing to... to family that I've ever known. Didn't you even think about what would happen to me when you left? Didn't you even wonder?!" Naruto gasped desperately. Sasuke forced himself not to wince.

"...I couldn-"

"The only thing I thought about for four years was finding you, making you come back! And the whole time you were off playing with that snake-bastard, probably laughing about it. I tried so hard to convince Tsunade to let me go and rescue you! I promised Sakura, but for all I knew Orochimaru was already... already..."

Sasuke had given up trying to talk back. Instead he just stayed silent and looked over his shoulder, calmly watching Naruto's face as the blond got more and more worked up, though inwardly hating every second of it. Sasuke blinked in surprise: It might just have been him, but he could have sworn Naruto had tears in his eyes.

"What you did to me - us was unforgivable, you selfish, miserable..."

Naruto finally bit his lip again, calming himself down. Now wasn't the time to dig into Sasuke: that would be when he was fully healed, and Naruto could hospitalise him all over again.

Still, the outburst caused one effect that Naruto hadn't planned on: Sasuke turned, dropping the rucksack back to the floor as he stared quizzically at Naruto, dark eyes boring into the blond just as they had across Tsunade's office not 6 hours before.

"...Why did you even care?" To Naruto's surprise, there was a tone of astonishment underneath Sasuke's cold, even words. The Uzumaki felt his ears begin to grow hot in embarrassment but he forced himself to look back at Sasuke and gritted his teeth determinedly as he spoke.

"Because I care about you, you bastard." He growled, eyes narrowed at the Uchiha's face. Suddenly the blond realised that a tear had sneaked out and was trickling down his cheek as he spoke. His eyes widened in shock, and the blond cursed under his breath as he turned and ran from the room. He'd screwed up his courage to come and see Sasuke, but it still wasn't enough, he still wasn't ready. Soon he was out the front door, leaving the Uchiha compound in that all too familiar silence.

Sasuke's expression remained unreadable as he listened to Naruto's footsteps echo away into nothing, but inside the raven's heart was doing strange spazms. It was too much to hope that Naruto felt the way Sasuke did after all this time, but something in Naruto's face made it seem as though he meant more than he said he meant. 


End file.
